Relaxation Breathing(Pranayama)

RELAXATION BREATHING

From birth to death we have at our disposal a natural, strong, and harmless sedative and tranquilizer that we can use to prevent anxiety, nerves, over-excitement, and most importantly it is a tool that allows us to take control of our mind.

Benefits of relaxed breathing:

Slow breathing soothes and relaxes the nervous system.

Helps in the proper functioning of the pineal and the pituitary glands.

Taking control of our breath: 7/11 Deep Breathing

Learn a special type of breathing, not into your chest but deep into your tummy or diaphragm which is below your chest. The important thing here is that the out-breath must be longer than the in-breath even if only by one or two seconds. This causes stimulation of the part of your nervous system (parasympathetic) responsible for relaxation. This is a basic law of biology and if you breathe in this way then your body will have no choice but to relax.

It may take a few minutes but the body will respond regardless of what your mind is thinking. Experience this now. Sit down and close your eyes for a little while. Just become aware of your breathing and breathe in to the count of seven and breathe out to the count of eleven. You can hold for a couple of seconds at the bottom of the out breath if that's comfortable for you.

If you can't manage a seven second inbreath, then take the longest inbreath that you can (eg: 4 seconds) and simply extend the outbreath to be at least two seconds longer than the inbreath (eg: 6 seconds). Do this at least 20 times and then begin to increase the length of the inbreath and the outbreath, always ensuring that the outbreath is at least two seconds longer than the inbreath.